An Unpredictable Romance
by Lanisatu
Summary: Victims of one of Minnie-May's devious schemes, Rally and Bean get locked in the stock room at the Gunsmith Cats store. Could this be the beginning of something nobody expected?
1. The Trap

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

* * *

**Minnie-Prologue**   
Minnie May (neé Hopkins) is now married to Ken Takizawa and lives with him in Chicago. They have an infant daughter named Maggie (after May). Minnie May continues to help out at the Gunsmith Cats store, often leaving Misty with babysitting duties. Now that Minnie May is a mother, Rally tries to avoid taking her along on bounty hunting jobs, so she has returned to a primarily solo act. Rally does bring Misty along on jobs from time to time, and Minnie May still helps out occasionally, usually working behind-the-scenes...

This chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

* * *

Rally is in the back room, taking stock, when the door opens and closes. Without turning to face the person who just entered the room, Rally mutters: "So, Minnie May, you finally decided to help me do YOUR job for once?"

"Actually... I don't know exactly why I'm here," Bean responds.

Rally spun around to face him. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, surprised. "This is my store; you're not supposed to be here..." she trailed off, unable to make sense of the bizarre situation.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, babe," Bean calmly replied.

It was then that they both heard the click of the outside lock on the door. _"Oh no,"_ Rally thought, _"I'm not stuck in here with him, am I?"_ She ran toward the door. "Minnie May! Let me out of here!" Rally screamed, pounding her fists against the door.

"Sorry, Rally, no can do!" May sang. "You have to stay in there, WITH Bean and resolve your differences," Minnie May explained, safely on the other side of the door. And although Rally couldn't see her, she knew all too well that Minnie May probably had a devilish grin plastered across her face.

"Resolve our differences?"

"That's what she said," Bean confirmed.

"You," Rally stated angrily, poking him hard in the chest, "stay out of this."

"Sorry, babe, but I kind of got the idea that I'm supposed to _talk_ to you. Call me crazy, but it sounded like that's what she said," Bean explained with a sly grin.

"Exactly right. Bravo!" May congratulated him. "Now, here's how the game is played: you each have to say whatever you don't like about each other." Minnie May's grin widened. She turned to Misty and whispered: "Wait 'till she finds out about round two!" and tried to hide her giggles.

_"Damn,"_ Rally thought, _"She knows I won't shoot the lock off the door if I can avoid it. I don't want to create unnecessary expenses. Shit, Margaret, you **are** a brat."_ Aloud, she responded to Minnie May: "Hmph. This is a crappy game, Minnie. But fine, I'll go first." She started to count off on her fingers, one by one, listing the things she didn't like about the infamous Bean Bandit. "He's a criminal; he helps other criminals escape; he participates in illegal acts..." she paused, drawing in a breath, "And he stole my car."

"I thought we sorted that out ages ago. And it's not like I hurt it. I just **drive**, you know that." He paused for a moment, then resumed his argument before Rally could interject. "For the right price, I'll drive anything from point A to point B, no problem. And, since I lost that bet to you, I ain't movin' any drugs." He paused again, staring at Rally silently for a moment, then continued: "In case you haven't noticed, you're certainly no saint yourself. You have a knack for makin' my jobs harder, but sometimes that makes things a little more interesting. You sure seem to like getting on my case about one thing or another. Or accusing me of things I didn't do. You really have it _so_ set in your mind that I'm wrong, don't ya? Why don't you try an' look further into things; see the facts and reasons for them. You **don't** know me, babe, so don't get mad at me for breathin'."

Frustrated, and momentarily unable to think of a snappy retort, Rally turned her attention toward May. "Minnie May, what is the point of this?!"

"OK...our lovely contestants today have been locked in a storage room, unarmed, to resolve their differences. For those of you just tuning in to our show, we have just witnessed our guests state their dislikes for each other. Now we'll move on to round number two!" May paused, for dramatic effect. "Players, are you ready? Okay! Here's what you have to do: say **nice** things about each other. Anything nice; whatever you like about each other." Finally unable to contain herself any longer, Minnie May collapsed to the ground in a fit of giggles. Regaining her composure for a moment, she managed to add a little more fuel to the fire. "Oh, and Rally, when you're done in there; there're a few people that wanna talk to you," she spurted out in the middle of laughing.

"May?! You're dead!!!" Rally screamed, enraged; half mad at Minnie May, and half mad at herself for falling into this trap. _"Damn,"_ Rally thought to herself, _"I should have **known** she was up to something... But wait a second – I'm fully armed; May knows that. Plus there's a gun in one of the desk drawers. And I highly doubt that Bean would be unarmed. If she thinks I won't shoot him just because we have a closed-circuit audience; she's got another thing coming. What the **hell** is she up to?"_

"I'll go first this time," Bean announced, interrupting Rally's thoughts. He calmly rattled off his list: "She can shoot; she knows her guns, and her cars – great taste in 'em too. And I hear she's the best bounty hunter in all of Illinois." He paused, looking at Rally. "Should I go on?" he asked.

"Please..." Rally said, sarcastically, while gritting her teeth.

"She has impeccable aim; she's often seriously injured, but always manages to get out on top of things..." he trailed off, trying to think of more items to add to his list. "And her driving ain't half bad, either," he joked. "She's quite physically attractive..." he said, trailing on with his words, again. He looked Rally up and down, allowing his gaze to finally rest on Rally's chest.

Rally slapped him, hard, across the face. "Pig!"

Bean quickly grabbed her wrists. "Whoa, not so fast. At least let me catch up," he said with a wink.

"Argh!" Rally screamed, angrily. She furiously attempted to thrash at him but was unable to break his restraint over her.

"Rally... your turn..." May cheerfully sang from the hallway, to Rally's disappointment.

Rally finally stopped struggling, and Bean let go of her wrists.

"This should be interesting," he said with a smirk.

"He's a good driver. And he has great taste in cars," Rally reluctantly offered. She paused, turning her face back toward the door. "Do I really have to do this?"

A resounding "Yes!" was heard from the other side of the door.

"Um... he's nice to children..." Rally trailed off, running out of ideas. "Honestly I can't think of anything else off the top of my head," she admitted.

"Then keep thinkin'," Bean suggested.

"Y'know, sometimes you just piss me off more than anything else, Bean," Rally said coldly. She paused, regaining control over her fiery temper. "I have customers out there, in my store, waiting for me. I'd really like to get this over with."

"Why're you bein' so hostile?"

"For one thing, this is my store. The stock should've tipped you off - I'm a gunsmith, Bean. I really don't think that I have anything you'd be interested in."

"You're sure it isn't cuz you don't want him to know where we live?" May teased.

"You live in your store?" Bean asked, skeptically. "When'd that happen?"

"We live in a house--" Rally began.

"It's just behind the store. They're connected." May added, cutting Rally off in mid-sentence.

"Then I already know where ya live. I've been to yer place before..." 

"I know," Rally said. She directed her attention back toward Minnie May. "Minnie May, if you're going to be so damned immature, then could you at least turn off the monitors?"

"No can do," May replied, "We must entertain our wonderful audience!"

"Are the cameras bothering you all that much?" Bean asked Rally, "Cuz I can take care of 'em pretty easily."

Rally looked up, somewhat surprised. "What?"

"I can take care of the cameras."

"Without breaking them?"

"Course."

"...Thanks."

Bean searched around the room for a bit, then finally found what he wanted. He began to put tape over the camera lenses. Groans of disappointment were heard from the store.

"So you've taken care of the cameras. Big deal...we still have the intercom system working!" May pointed out.

"Not anymore," Bean said, pulling the intercom off the wall.

"You'd better pay for that," Rally told him.

"No prob."

"Well; now that we can actually have a private conversation," Rally said, motioning to one of the chairs.

They both sat down, on opposite sides of the desk.

"Why're you going along with this little scheme of May's?" Rally asked.

Bean smirked, "I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought him back." Bean put his feet up on the desk, seeming to relax.

Rally pulled out her CZ75 and aimed it at his head, "Get your feet off my desk!"

"You gonna to shoot me if I don't?" Bean asked.

Rally glared at him. "Look, if you're just gonna be an asshole—"

Bean cut her off, "Relax, babe." He put his feet back down. "Better?"

Rally withdrew her gun, tilting it up toward the ceiling so that she was no longer aiming at him. She removed her finger from the trigger as well, but was not yet ready to put it away.

Bean continued, "I knew yer friend must've been off 'bout that 'unarmed' business." He paused. "Anyway, doesn't the name of your store have something to do with cats?"

"It's called 'Gunsmith Cats,'" Rally conceded. "So," she continued, "You're trying to tell me that you're just sitting here, talking to me because you're _curious?_ I find that hard to believe."

Bean grinned, "I figured this'd be entertaining."

Rally looked even angrier. "Don't try my patience, Bandit."

"Yer kinda cute when you're angry, babe," he said with a wink.

Rally rolled her eyes. "Gimme a break."

"So, Rally," Bean said, quickly changing the subject, "Let's sort out this stuff between us."

"What do you mean 'between us?' There's nothing. I don't really like you that much. You probably aggravate me more than anything else."

"Who're you trying to convince—me, or you?"

Rally blushed, embarrassed. "What? How can you say that?"

"Cuz I don't believe you. You hiding from somethin' or what?" He paused, taking on a more serious tone. "You're not bad to look at, y'know." 

"Gee... thanks," Rally said sarcastically.

"Fine. Forget that. Still... we do have some similar interests."

"Like cars," Rally added.

"Right," he agreed.

"We've gone over this before, Bean. We're on different sides. I'm a bounty hunter; I take people _in_ to the police. You help them get _out_ of jail. So I can't _really_ be on friendly terms with you."

"Don't make up yer mind so fast, girl. We've worked together before."

"I know. But unless you're planning to become a 'good guy' and work _with_ the cops instead of against them..."

"I know it might not be easy, but it could be interesting. I'm willin' to sacrifice a few things for a while; I like a challenge."

Rally hesitated to respond. "I don't know. I can't help but have a bad feeling about this..."

"Hey, I stick to that bet, don't I?" Bean reminded her.

"Yeah, but that's just one thing--"

"One **big** thing."

"I'm not sure if I can trust you," Rally quietly admitted, looking down.

"I'm not all that bad, Rally. Haven't I saved yer ass enough times for you to realize that?"

"I'm sorry, Bean... but you've switched sides on me before."

"And it wasn't long ago that I asked you to be my partner. But I guess that doesn't count for anything, now does it?"

Rally looked up to meet his gaze. "Bean..." She paused, trying to find the right words to express what she wanted to say. "I told you then that I can't do that. I can't be your partner. Do I really need to tell you why, again?"

"No. I heard ya the first time." He leaned back in his chair. "Guess I was gettin' ahead of myself. You're pretty much a solo act now, right?"

"Yeah. I can take care of myself."

"If you say so." He searched in his jacket for a pack of cigarettes. "If you ever change yer mind, gimme a call, you hear?"

"Why, are you actually planning to come clean?"

"Would it make a difference?"

"I'm not sure... You've caused a lot of damage, so the police still want to bring you in. They're probably not willing to forgive you that easily."

"Screw them. I don't give a shit about what they think. And they sure as hell ain't gonna catch me." He took the pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and pulled out a cigarette. He closed the box and put it back inside his jacket. "Y'know, I'm not gonna become an instant boy scout just so we can be partners. I said I'd sacrifice a few things for a while. I ain't about to change my life overnight for anybody."

"Neither am I."

Bean didn't seem to care either way, "Fine. So nothing changes." He put the cigarette in his mouth and pulled a lighter out of his jacket.

"You can't smoke in here," Rally objected.

"Stop me," Bean challenged.

Rally aimed her CZ75 at his head again, glaring at him. Undaunted, he proceeded to light the cigarette and start smoking.

"You got a plan for getting out of here, or should I just rip the door out of the wall?" Bean asked.

"Don't you dare!"

"Have it your way..." Bean said, calmly.

"Damn it. We need to think of something, though. We've got to trick Minnie May into letting us out," Rally said.

"I take it you have no ideas?" Bean asked.

"Unfortunately," Rally admitted, finally putting her gun away.

"What do ya think she wanted to end up happening? We call a truce or somethin'?" Bean asked.

"She's more devious than that. Besides, she'd probably want something more permanent. That might rule out jobs, but maybe not..." Rally paused, thinking to herself for a moment. "She's been kind of weird since—" Rally gasped, "No, she wouldn't... but it **would** make perfect sense. Hm..."

"Mind fillin' me in?" Bean asked.

"I wish she had just talked to me about this first; but I guess she figured that I wouldn't go along with it."

"And you're gonna to start makin' sense when, exactly?"

"Oh," Rally said, finally cluing in, "I think it has something to do with her daughter, Maggie."

Bean raised an eyebrow, "She has a kid now?"

"Yeah. Maggie's still a baby. I guess Minnie May's worried about her. And, since you like kids..."

"She probably wants me to protect the kid," Bean finished.

"Exactly!" Rally confirmed with a smile. She was happy to have finally figured out why May had planned and carried out this devious scheme of hers.

"I don't mind, but I'm not about to do it all the time."

"Oh, I know that. I think she probably wanted back up; as strange as that might sound. But I didn't realize she was so concerned for her daughter's safety. I guess she didn't really want to talk to me about it because she knows I'm not exactly eager to work out any deals with you."

"And THIS was supposed to be a better idea?" Bean asked. He chuckled.

"I guess she thought that if we were more like friends, it'd be easier to ask you for a favour. But I'm not sure."

"So, tell me, is she always like this; or is this somethin' new?"

"In this case; I think she's just being paranoid because now she's a mom."

"Okay. But why worry about askin' me to protect her kid at all? I'm not about to stand by and let a kid get hurt if I see they're in danger. I've saved her a few times, even. Is she not too swift on the uptake or somethin'?"

"That's the part I'm not completely sure about."

* * *

**Notes:** Bean was hired by Gray as a getaway driver [Return of Gray: Big Game]. May gets grabbed by Gray and Rally tries to get her back; running into a few obstacles. Bean steals Rally's GT500 and helps Gray to escape. May is still dragged along for the getaway ride. Later: Gray drops a trailer and, thanks to Bean, Rally and May are able to escape alive. Rally says she owes Bean for this and Bean thanks her for the "loan" of her car.

Bean has previously complemented Rally on her shift work/ driving skills; and has asked her to be his partner [Misty's Run: Print... Out].

Bean was in Rally's house before the final fight with Goldie [Kidnapped: Suicide], including May's room. Misty and May both know this. (remember, May is _teasing_; she hasn't completely lost her marbles.) 


	2. Tricking the Trickster

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

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**Minnie Review**   
Trapped in the Gunsmith Cats stock room, Rally and Bean have become the victims of a scheming Minnie May (possibly just because she was bored).

Rally finally realizes that the entire scheme is probably about one thing - Minnie May's infant daughter. Is her child in danger? Maybe this plan was meant to try and get Rally and Bean to become friends; to make it easier to ask Bean for a favour. But having been saved by him before, Minnie May should know that there's no way he'd let a child be harmed if he has anything to say about it. Perhaps motherhood has made her a little too paranoid...

Chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

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Bean sat up in his chair and leaned slightly forward, toward Rally. "All right, so she wants us to be friends—but that's not likely to happen. What do you say we give her a little more than what she's hopin' for," Bean suggests.

"Such as...?" Rally asks, skeptically.

"Such as pretending to be more intimate that she'd expect," Bean explains. He calmly exhales a cloud of cigarette smoke, and leans back in his chair. he puts his cigarette back in his mouth and smiles, waiting for a response.

Rally hesitates. "...All right. What are we going to act out to convince her to open the door?"

"I think I have an idea," Bean says with a devilish smirk.

_"I'm not so sure I want to know what it is, now,"_ Rally thought, nervously.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the locked door to the stock room, Minnie May and Misty struggled to hear Rally and Bean's conversation. "Ow! Quit pushing, May!" Misty complained.

"Damn! I know they're talking but I can't make out what they're saying. This is so frustrating!" May grumbled.


	3. All the World's a Stage

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

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**Minnie Review**   
Still trapped in the stock room of the Gunsmith Cats store, Rally and Bean have finally come up with a plan to get themselves out, so they can go back to their normal lives. Well, as normal as the lives of a freelance driver and a gunsmith/ bounty hunter can be. The stage is set, with Rally and Bean now standing close to the door. Our players are ready, and they begin to act out their skit. But can they really act well enough to fool Minnie May with words alone? Only time will tell...

This chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

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"So you don't have a boyfriend, then?" Bean asks.

"No... I'm too busy with bounty hunting jobs and running the store," Rally replies, truthfully.

"Is that it? Really?"

"Well, the truth is... I've always felt it wouldn't be fair to date anyone; being who I am, and doing what I do. So I don't bother looking. I try to avoid it, actually. I just don't want to have someone who cares about me like that to worry that I won't come home that night. Or, that I'll come home dead," Rally admits.

"I know exactly what you mean, Rally," Bean replies, "It's awful to feel like that. But you wouldn't have to worry about that with me—because I'll probably be there, with you, on your jobs." After a pause, Bean continues: "We'll worry about each other. It'll all even out."

"I don't know, Bean. I'm not sure I can handle this..." Rally said, sounding worried.

"Don't worry so much, Rally. Just see how things go. We'll work it out some way or another."

Rally took a few steps back. Acting or not, she was getting a little nervous. Bean stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you all right, Rally?" he said, sounding concerned.

Rally looked up at him. "What if it's a mistake? What if it doesn't work out? What if we're getting in way over our heads?"

Bean's hands slid off her shoulders and onto her upper arms. Rally seemed nervous. "If people always avoided relationships because they were afraid it wasn't going to work," he told her, "Hardly anyone would ever date."

"But what about us? I don't know..."

"Maybe this'll help," Bean said and leaned over as though he was going to kiss her on the lips. He held her around her waist. Rally's fingers barely touched his arms.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Misty was leaning against the wall. She'd given up trying to listen to Rally and Bean's conversation directly. "What's going on in there?" she asked Minnie May.

"Um... It sounded like they were getting along, but now it's quiet..." May replied, her right ear pressed against the door.

* * *

"Don't you think you're a little too close?" Rally whispered.

"Just play along," Bean whispered back, "All we need is for them to open the door."

* * *

"Maybe it's a trap," Misty offered.

"Hm... I dunno. If we don't hear anything for a couple minutes, then we'll open the door, 'kay?" May said.

"It's a plan." Misty confirmed.

* * *

"We want to make this believable, don't we?" Bean whispered with a smirk.

Rally was not pleased. "That doesn't mean I'm about to let you get away with anything."

"Yeah, I know, babe," Bean whispered.

"I'm **not** your 'babe,' my name is—"

"'Rally' - I know," Bean whispered, cutting her off. "Seriously, you need to relax."

Rally glared at him, "Honestly! You can be such a jerk," she whispered.

"Not so good at sweet talk, are ya?"

"Why you..." Rally whispered, angrily, and tried to slap him. Bean grabbed her wrists.

* * *

"Ready?" Minnie May asked.

"Ready." Misty said.

Just as Misty and Minnie May flung open the door and barged in, screaming "Charge!" Bean suddenly pulled Rally close and kissed her on the lips. Rally was stunned. She didn't move.

"No way..." Misty said, dumbfounded.

"Yes! This is so great!!!" Minnie May squealed with glee.

Rally and Bean quickly split apart.

"May, can I see you in my office?" Rally said, blushing furiously.

"But wouldn't this be...?" Minnie May began.

Rally grabbed May's arm and led her outside of the room. Misty was still standing there, her jaw practically on the floor.

"Don't hold that face too long, it might get stuck that way," Bean said.

Misty closed her mouth, embarrassed. "You? And Rally? You two were...?" Misty muttered, not quite believing what she just saw.

"Yeah," Bean said with a smirk. "Well, I should be going."

And with that, he left the store.


	4. Confessions

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

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**Minnie Review**   
By cooperating, Rally and Bean were finally able to get out of the stock room. But Rally got a little more than she bargained for. It wasn't the acting that had bothered her, it was that her freedom had come at the price of a kiss from Bean Bandit! Rally had been too shocked to react at first and didn't even move until Misty and Minnie May started speaking. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Rally had dragged May out of the room and to the house so that they could talk.

This chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

* * *

"What'd you see, Minnie May? Huh? Answer me!" Rally asked, desperately, though she already knew the answer.

"Well, since Misty and I didn't hear anything for a couple minutes, we decided to go in and see what was happening. That's when we charged in and saw you and Bean kissing!!!" Minnie May was ecstatic. With a big smile across her face, she clapped her hands with glee.

"Look, Minnie, don't tell **anyone** about what happened. My reputation could be ruined."

"Rally and Bean..." Minnie May sang, cheerfully. Then she giggled and said: "Aw...you two are just so cute!"

"May!!! I mean it. If this gets out—" She drew a nervous breath, "My reputation won't mean anything anymore. Nobody will take me seriously if they think I'm getting into a relationship with a criminal. Don't tell **anyone**!"

"Oh, all right," May said, disappointed. "But just Ken? Please? I won't tell anyone else and I'll swear him to secrecy. Okay?"

"Fine. Just Ken. But only because I know you'll tell him anyway. Nobody else, though; not even Becky will be told—got it?"

"Got it!" May said, giving Rally a salute.

"Good," Rally said with a sigh of relief. "Now, Minnie May, could I talk to you about Maggie for a bit?"

"Uh... Sure," May replied, hesitantly.

"You're really worried about her, aren't you? Did something happen that I don't know about? Did somebody threaten you? Is this because of Ken?" Rally asked.

"Nothing happened," May admitted. "I just worry that I might not be able to protect her all the time; especially if I go back to doing more jobs with you. What happens then, if Ken can't protect her either?"

Rally put a hand on May's shoulder, reassuringly. "Then you'd still have me, Misty, and even Becky to look out for her."

"I don't think Becky would be too useful for that," May scoffed. "What's she gonna do to anyone trying to hurt my daughter; annoy them to death?"

"Minnie May!" Rally scolded.

"I know, I know... But Maggie's my baby. I want to make sure that there's always someone there to protect her." May looked down, ashamed, "I guess this means you figured it out, huh? I'm sorry, Rally. I just want to make sure my baby is safe."

"It's all right, Minnie May; I forgive you. But don't do something like this again. You can always come and talk to me about something this important to you," Rally assured her. "Why were you so sneaky this time? And why worry about asking Bean at all? You know he'd help out if he was around and she was in danger. It doesn't matter if I get along with him or not."

"But, if you at least became friends, he'd probably be around more often. And then I might not have to worry so much," May explained.

"Minnie May..." Rally sighed. "You **don't** have to worry so much. I'm not about to let anything bad happen to her."

"I know; I'm just scared. Being a mom makes me worry a lot more."

"It's Okay, Minnie May," Rally said, giving May a big hug.

"Oh, and Minnie, one more thing," Rally began, "Why did you say that Bean and I were unarmed? You know I'm fully armed, plus there's a gun in one of the desk drawers. But you knew that too. And I highly doubt that Bean was unarmed. What gives?"

"Oh, that..." May laughed, "I know you two don't always get along, but I knew you wouldn't kill each other. Well... Okay, I wasn't 100% sure; but I thought it'd be pretty unlikely for either of you to attack each other."

"You make absolutely no sense, Margaret."

Minnie May stuck out her tongue at Rally. "I was still right, wasn't I? It doesn't look like he hurt you, and I didn't here any shots fired, so... everything's okay, right?"

"It's okay, except for the fact that he **kissed me**," Rally said, making a fist in anger. "That jerk, he thinks he can get away with anything! I could kill him!"

"Rally!" Minnie May protested.

Rally sighed, calming down. "I won't actually kill him, Minnie May. I just want to teach him a lesson."

Minnie May frowned.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll do what I can to work things out on your behalf. Maggie will be just fine," Rally assured her.

Minnie May nodded with a smile. "Thanks."

"Now, let's get back to work okay? And no more crazy surprises!" Rally ordered.

May beamed, "No problem!" She turned to head back to the store.

"Hey, Minnie, could you give me a minute? I'm going to see about getting that intercom fixed."

"Ooh...!" May exclaimed, "So you two _did_ hit it off, after all! That kicks ass!"

"MAY!!!"

"Okay! Okay! Jeez... Relax, already. I'll get back to work," May said, turning her back to Rally and heading back toward the store. Under her breath, she mumbled: "Sometimes you're no fun at all, Rally..."

"I heard that!"

"Yikes!" May yelped, cringing.

"Just get to work already, would you?"

"Fine..." Minnie May grumbled in defeat. She went back to the store.

Rally rolled her eyes, "Sometimes, Minnie May, you can be such a brat..."

Suddenly Rally's cell phone rang. "Huh? Who's calling?" Rally wondered aloud. "Hello?" she answered the call, a little surprised.

"Yo," Bean said.

Rally scowled, "Oh, it's **you**."

"Yeah, nice to talk to you too, babe," Bean responded.

"You asshole, I can't believe you did that! I'm not going to let you get away with it, y'know. And you owe me for my intercom," Rally said, angrily.

"I'll send you the cash later. Don't get so wound up over nothin'."

"'Nothing?!' You **kissed** me! What the hell were you thinking?"

Bean smirked, "Heh. Thought I might get an interesting reaction outta ya."

"ARGH! You are such a jerk!!!" Rally screamed.

Bean held the phone away from his ear. "She _really_ needs to relax... I was just joking," he said to himself.

"Why're you calling?" Rally asked, a little more calmly.

"You've sorted things out with your friend, Minnie May, by now, right?"

"Yeah, she confessed. I think she's okay now."

"Good. You've got customers, right? I'll talk to you later."

Rally sighed. "Fine."

They set a time and meeting place for later that evening. After they hung up, Rally composed herself. _"What am I going to tell my customers?"_ she thought, walking back to the store. Once there, she took care of her customers while May tended to Misty (who was still in shock).


	5. Ready to Go

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

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This chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

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Later that night; Rally was in her room, getting ready to go out, when Minnie May walked in. "Where're you going?" May asked, innocently.

"None of your business," Rally replied.

"Are you going out on a date with Bean?" Minnie May asked playfully, a wide grin plastered across her face.

"It's not like that, Minnie May."

"Right..." May said, rolling her eyes.

"We're just going to talk."

"And pigs can fly."

"Minnie May..." Rally was starting to get annoyed.

"Then why _are_ you going?"

"To talk; just like I said."

"About Maggie?"

"Mostly."

"There's more?" May asked, excitedly. "Are you going to start dating?"

"Not a chance, Minnie May. He's creating the crimes I'm supposed to stop. It would never work."

"Aw, you don't really mean that do you? The way you two were kissing today – don't tell me you didn't feel anything. Don't you care about him?"

"You're wrong, Minnie May. First of all, he kissed me—not the other way around. And I'm **not** happy about it."

May pouted, "Damn... But it looked like you were kissing back, Rally. I mean, If you weren't, you would've pushed him away and started beating him with whatever you could get your hands on, right?"

Rally sighed. "I'm not going to date him, Minnie May. So give it up." She paused. "Besides, he's a lot stronger than me. I couldn't have pushed him away if I tried."

"'If?' Oh... so there is something going on."

"No, nothing's going on. He surprised me. I didn't have much of a chance to react. He kissed me just when you opened the door."

"Ooh! How sneaky," Minnie May said with a grin, "I like it!"

"Minnie May, I'm only going to restrain myself from making him sorely regret that _incident_ because I know how important Maggie's safety is to you. Quit jumping to conclusions."

"I guess this means your hobby's still more important than romance, huh?"

"Why would that change?"

"The way you argue with him—I don't think you _really_ hate him. I mean, you argue with me a lot, but you still love me, right?"

"That's debatable."

"Rally!" May whined. "Come on, we're still friends, right?"

Rally laughed, "Yes, Minnie May, of course we're still friends. But I don't see that happening with Bean. He's a criminal, and I enforce the law, remember? Working out any kind of agreement with him is iffy, at best. I'm still not sure about trusting him. But I'll do what I can to make sure he can help protect Maggie, okay?"

"Thanks, Ral. But I still think you two care about each other." Minnie May stuck her tongue out at Rally. "Besides, I think you'd make a cute couple." She smiled.

Rally made an angry fist, "One of these days, Margaret!"

"Promise you'll be nice, **Irene**."

"I'll be as nice as possible, **Margaret**."

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**Notes:**   
Rally's given name is really Irene.   
"May" is derived from the name Margaret. 


	6. Evening Rendezvous

Legal Crap: These characters belong to Kenichi Sonoda, A.D. Vision Films, etc. Except for Maggie, who belongs to Jen.

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This chapter last updated: Jul 14/ 04

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Rally left home in her prized Shelby Cobra GT500 (1967 model) and drove to the parking lot where she'd agreed to meet Bean. She parked a few rows in from the entrance. After checking her watch, Rally got out of her car and scanned the practically deserted lot with her eyes. There probably weren't more than 100 cars in total; none of which appeared to be occupied.

She stood behind her car and waited, impatiently, with her arms crossed. She wasn't eager to meet with Bean; but she'd made a promise to Minnie May, to ensure that Maggie would be protected. Rally wished this didn't mean having to deal with a criminal, but who better than Bean to ask for help? He definitely had a soft spot for kids, and he was incredibly strong. Towering well over six feet in height, he could be intimidating just standing still. Rally giggled, she could picture quite a few people being scared off after just one look at him. He certainly could not be called a pushover, by any stretch of the imagination.

He was a great driver — fantastic really, she couldn't argue against that. And he did seem to keep his word. Ever since he'd lost that bet to her, he stopped trafficking drugs. Rally giggled to herself at the almost unintended pun. But he was arrogant, and he often said things that led to her losing her temper. Whether he did it on purpose, Rally wasn't completely sure. No matter what his reason was for doing it, it was very annoying. But, as much as she hated to admit it, Rally knew that he could easily be the best protection that Minnie May's child could ever have.

True, he'd probably want money for it. No, scratch that, he'd _definitely_ want money for it. That meant Rally would probably end up paying him, out of her own pocket. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of an expense; but knowing how much Bean loved money, Rally knew that the chances of that were slim to none. She let out a depressed sigh just thinking about it. Maybe they wouldn't need to ask for his help that much? Rally would only be kidding herself if she believed that. But that still left a bit of a problem: making sure he'd be there. It wasn't that she thought he was unreliable, though that concern was always in the back of her mind; it was that he wasn't someone she'd normally be working with. He did show up on some of her cases, but she couldn't expect that they'd always happen to be in the same place like that; coincidences are not something to be depended upon.

What then? She'd have to start asking him to tag along? That would mean having to give him a cut of the bounty reward. Rally frowned. She didn't like that idea. For one thing, Bean was a criminal; that was too risky. Maybe not so much for him, but her own credibility could start to diminish if she was frequently seen working with Bean Bandit. Not just in general, but Roy would definitely disapprove! Damn, she might end up having to tell Roy Coleman about this new agreement. Rally knew he wasn't going to like it. Roy most certainly did not like Bean. And he'd be sure to give Rally a stern lecture as soon as he found out about Rally working with Bean. She wasn't looking forward to that; but it was inevitable. Roy would find out one way or another; and then, there he'd go, back to telling Rally how 'careful' she should be and how she shouldn't trust Bean. She knew Roy had confidence in her, and her abilities, but sometimes he was like that. Kind of like an over-protective father.

She'd just try to avoid the subject for now. She wasn't feeling up to getting a lecture any time soon. Besides, she was an adult. She knew what she was doing, right?

Rally's mind suddenly came back to reality as she saw Bean approach. She relaxed a little and stood up straight. _"At least he's shown up,"_ she thought.

"Yo," Bean greeted.

"It's about time, you're late."

"And you're picky," Bean retorted.

Rally glared at him, "Watch it, buddy."

Bean casually rested a hand on the back of Rally's car. "Nice," he remarked. "I see it's been fixed," he teased.

"Don't touch my car," Rally ordered.

Bean complied, for the moment, putting his hands in his pockets. "Fine."

"When are you going to pay me for the intercom?"

"Relax, Rally, you'll get your money soon enough." He leaned against the back of the car.

"Don't touch my car," Rally ordered, gritting her teeth.

Bean stepped away from the vehicle. "A little over-protective, aren't you?"

"You stole it before. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Whatever," Bean said, pulling out a cigarette.

Rally became more serious. "So let's get down to business. Minnie May's going to start going on more jobs with me — at least she wants to, eventually. When Ken isn't around, or isn't able to protect their daughter, Minnie May wants some extra assurance that Maggie will be safe when she gets home."

"Right. So where do I come in? I'm not plannin' to play babysitter. It doesn't pay well."

Rally rolled her eyes. _"How typical of him..."_ she thought. "Yeah, I know," she said, "But we can work out compensation later."

Bean casually leaned against the car, continuing to smoke. "So, what's the plan?"

"DON'T touch my car!" Rally yelled.

Bean stepped away from the car, "All right, already! Calm down, babe."

"Rally. My name is **Rally**. "

"I **know**," he said, with the same tone in his voice he would use if Rally were telling him something so painfully obvious as 'the sky is blue.' After a moment, Bean continued: "So, you were saying, about the kid?"

"Maggie, right. Minnie May probably won't bring her along on jobs if we can avoid it. I know I'll definitely do whatever I can to avoid that. I don't want that kid ending up in the line of fire. But, if we run out of options..."

"I come in, save the kid, and kick some ass," he smirked, "Sounds good to me."

"Right," Rally paused, taking a Gunsmith Cats business card out of a pocket inside her jacket, "Here's Minnie May's address and numbers where you can reach her," she handed him the card and he looked over the information on both sides as she continued. "There's also the address and phone number for the store on there. And my address and phone numbers. Minnie May's often at my place, especially if Ken's out of town."

"I've been to your place before. I know where it is."

"Well, just in case. I don't want you saying you 'forgot.' No excuses."

Bean nodded. "Fair enough." He smirked, looking at her. "You really hate this, don't you?"

"You're enjoying it far too much," Rally retorted.

Bean put the card in his pocket. "And compensation?"

Rally sighed in disappointment; "We can work out the details for that later. I know you're going to want me to pay you for it."

"Damn straight."

"Oh, and before I forget..." Rally began, pulling out a pen from a pocket inside her jacket, and the business card Bean had given her before. "I'm going to need to be able to contact you." She handed him the pen and the card.

"You still have this, eh?" Bean said as he accepted them. After checking the accuracy of the information already printed on the front, he turned the card over and started to scribble out more details. When finished, he handed the card and pen back to her. "My numbers and address. You should usually be able to reach me on my cell."

Rally put the pen back in her pocket and quickly read over the information on the card. She recognized the address; it was for the same apartment she'd broken into before; meaning he hadn't moved. Rally mentally reminded herself to program Bean's cell phone number into her own cell phone later.

"Don't be shy now."

Rally looked up at him. Her eyes slightly widened in surprise when he winked at her. _"What the hell...? Is he hitting on me?"_ she thought. She hesitated, still holding the card. Then she calmly put the card back in her pocket, ignoring his remark. "So, do we have a deal?" Rally asked, holding out a hand.

"Yeah, it's a deal," he confirmed. They shook hands.

And then, yet again, Bean leaned against Rally's car, relaxed. He tossed his finished cigarette, extinguishing it with his boot.

Rally was fuming, "How many times do I have to tell you? DON'T TOUCH MY CAR!"

No sooner had Bean moved away from the car when Rally's cell phone suddenly rang. Rally jumped, startled. "Urk!" She quickly calmed down, regaining her composure, and answered the call. "Rally Vincent."

"Hi hi!!!" she heard a cheerful voice squeal from the other end.

Rally put her free hand to her forehead and shook her head in disbelief. "Minnie May... it's you."


End file.
